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Abstract

Micro-hole targets are studied to generate energetic protons from laser-thin foil targets by using 2-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. By using a small hole, the maximum energy of the accelerated proton is increased to 4 times higher than that from a simple planar target. The main proton acceleration mechanism of the hole-targets is the electrostatic field created between the fast electrons accelerated by the laser pulse ponderomotive force combined with the vacuum heating and the target rear surface. But in this case, the proton angular distribution shows double-peak shape, which means poor collimation and low current density. By using a small cone-shaped hole, the maximum proton energy is increased 3 times higher than that from a simple planar target. Furthermore, the angular distribution of the accelerated protons shows good collimation.